Frolic Hawaii’s 2nd Annual PokeFest

Local Poke vendor, Tamashiro Market Inc. stood out among the crowd with their 3 custom poke creations. Photo provided by Samantha Kinnard.

PokeFest 2018 gathered the community together through the love of poke and promoted local poke business owners.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, the 2nd Annual PokeFest was held at Ala Moana Shopping Center.Free admission gave attendees the opportunity to experience over a dozen different poke vendors.

The event was presented by Frolic Hawai’i, a popular local food blog that focuses on Hawai’i’s unique food scene with passion and personality.

Poke enthusiasts could opt to skip the long lines with a PokePass, and a portion of the proceeds went to Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, a local non-profit organization that promotes and inspires communities to care for their coastlines.

One local poke vendor that stood out was Tamashiro Market Inc. it featured three custom poke creations, two of which were made exclusively for this year’s PokeFest. Tamashiro Market brought to the table an ahy yuzu Poke with Sea Asparagus. This dish was made exclusively for PokeFest 2018 with Hawaiian ahi, sweet nori sauce and a special spicy sauce.

They also had their Real King Crab Poke, a customer favorite, which was a delicious marriage of King Crab, mayo, garlic and citrus sauce. Finally, their other exclusive PokeFest 2018 creation, Sweet and Spicy ahi poke. This dish is a poke standard with a twist of sweet with the spicy and is an employee favorite.

After grazing the wide variety of creative poke dishes, Uncle’s handmade ice cream sandwiches were the coolest post-poke dessert. Uncle’s mud pie and sea salt caramel swirl sandwiches, made with local produce to create unique and delicious flavors, were a must try.

Those who can eat their weight in poke participated in the first-ever Poke Pound eating contest, presented by nom nom. The fastest to eat a poke bowl won a trip for two to Las Vegas.

Fun activities like the Poke Pound eating contest made this event an enjoyable and interactive experience. Browsing the vendor tables at the festival was a unique way to learn of popular island poke shops and was a satisfying approach to trying various types of poke.

PokeFest 2018 had a great turnout and many new poke creations for Hawaii’s fish fanatics to enjoy.